Monday, May 29, 2017

I received an official acceptance letter from the Lime Rock Historics and my entry is confirmed. So baring any unforeseen circumstances, the Fiat 128ski will make it's debut at Lime Rock in September.

Left front

However, progress has been slow the last few weeks. I did manage to check off a number of things, like machining the new swing arm pins and rebuilding the Girling brakes.
But...
The company who was plating the suspension, made everything bright chrome, not satin chrome as they had said they would. When asked how this could be rectified, he said he could nickle plate it, brush it then lacquer it so it wouldn't tarnish. I told him no, this is for corrosion protection and I need satin or matte chrome, I don't want lacquer chipping off and the nickle tarnishing. A few days later, he showed me a sample of a brushed finish in his dimly lit office and I said OK. Once I got the pieces home, and next to the original parts that have been waiting for shocks, in order to get plated, I realized he did what I asked him not to do. He nickle plated them and added a lacquer. By the time I discovered this, pieces had already been assembled. In order to correct this, all the pieces would need to be stripped and replated and I can't wait another 3 weeks for this to get done.

Right rear

When I got the dampeners back I had asked the shop not to assemble them into the strut housings, as I had to plate them. But they did anyway, so I needed to take them apart. I wanted to bring the struts right to the plating shop, however my custom spanner wrench was at home. "Well, I guess tomorrow will be OK." Turns out, the home made spanner is inadequate to remove the glam nuts. So I ordered a proper spanner wrench and now I'm delayed two days in getting the last of my suppression parts to the plater.
Once I did get them apart, I picked up the strut tubes to put them in a box, and a spacer fell out of the strut. Did these guys cut the shocks down? I thought I told them to nix that idea and leave them the original length? Turns out, the new dampener seals are 1.125" shorter than the originals. I had wanted to shorten the housings in the beginning by 1.250" and decided against it. So, instead of calling me, and letting me know they shortened my shocks, by nearly the amount I had originally asked for, they just made spacers and screwed them together.
Since I really don't need, or want spacers below the dampeners, I need to shorten the strut tubes. Using my cold saw, I cut out most of the spacers my dad had welded in when the dampeners originally came from Koni, too long, and TIG welded the strut tubes back together. This will give me more space for shock travel and I may at some point change the top mountings and return them to my dad's original design. But I really need to get it together and test things before I run out of time.
After I cut and re-welded the housings I ran them over to the plater Thursday last.
The plater says, next week, so I gave him the whole week. Friday afternoon I go in, he says they will be done by 3:30-4. OK. I come back at 4:30 and...."Oh, my machine broke....my guys left early..." BULL SHIT! Not only has this guy not done the work he promised, but he has been late every time I go to pick up. I had planned on using this 3 day weekend to do final assembly on the suspension.

Most race organizing bodies require, or Strongly recommend, some type of HANS device for restraining your head in case of an impact. My mother has been friends with one of the co-inventors of this life saving device, and I got a surprise phone call from Jim Downing, asking how big my neck was. I figured out pretty quickly my mom was behind this and Jim assured me "It is a gift from your mother". I have to thank Jim as well, since I'm pretty sure he sent this to me at no charge to my mom. I did ask him to sign it, normally I don't ask for autographs at least not since I was a kid. Especially in my work, it's considered bad form to ask movie professionals for their autograph, but, how often to you get such a device, right from the inventor. I tested it in the car and I think I'll need to loose the original head pad my dad had made for the car. I will consider a new one of the same design, but much thinner.

New fuel cell arrived from ATL. I had planned to keep the cell exactly as it was originally, since this was a very early ATL fuel cell, from 1973, only 3 years from when the company was founded. But, the stock modern cell was about $480 and they quoted me $1600 for a custom one to match the original.
So, the 128ski get s a modern "Saver-Cell". The cell is 3/4" taller, but a tube spacer was all that was needed and it dropped into the original metal box.

Hopefully I can get the last of my suspension parts this coming week and finally get the wheels on. I ordered tires from Tirerack, because they offer a heat cycling service. Racing tires need to be heat cycled in order to get the most life out of them. This would normally require the tires to be mounted on the car, the car driven a few, slow warm up laps, then a quick lap to get the tire up to full temp. Then the wheels should be taken off to let the tires "cure" for 24 hours before you use them. Well this would totally wreck my first test day, so the heat cycling means I can use the tires right away. These should be here next week so if all goes well, I may have the car on it wheels by next weekend.

I did source a spare, stock 128 transmission, as the racing gears won't be done for some time. This will allow me to test the car and I should be able to run it in this configuration if the racing gears are delayed beyond my Lime Rock event. For this temporary solution, I need a stock pressure plate, since the racing flywheel is getting plasma sprayed and also won't be back for a couple of weeks. If I'm lucky, I can assemble the gearbox and engine and put that in as well this weekend. Then all that is left is the intake manifold repair.
I was going to leave it till the car was fired up, but since I am running out of things I can work on till other parts arrive, I installed the original Fiat Emblem in the hood. It's supposed to be chrome, but so was the suspensions, plus, the car and I are both heading for our golden years.....

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Over the 4 days; I didn't wreck any of the cars. Got the tail out a little in both the Viper and the Formula Mazda and the "skid cars" are more fun then any mere mortal deserves!
I was a bit worried about fitting in the cars. The first day, we didn't need helmets in the Vipers and although they were going to reserve the "lowered seat" Viper for me, there was another fellow who was using it. I had the regular seat version and it's a good thing I didn't need my helmet, because I would have had to drive with my head tilted. The next day, I did get the lowered seat car, and with my helmet, I just fit. The problem was, the seat didn't move and my instructor could not drive the car. So Mike McGovern, the chief instructor drove and coached me (as I sat in the passenger seat, with my head tilted)
On day four, we where introduced to the Formula Mazda. This was a big worry for me, could I fit in this small formula car. It was a little snug, but I did managed to shoe horn myself in by tucking my shoulders behind the side roll bar supports. I wish my Mom's significant other, Damon Barnett was still with us, as he was Mazda's first competition director. He would have gotten a kick out of me driving the Mazda race car. (Damon died in 2011)
In the formula Mazda, I did a 108.3 lap. Now a 1 minute flat is a winning lap, and 8 seconds is a huge difference, but it was my first day in the car and I have at least 100 lbs on the driver who turned that lap. (At a race on the same track, not in our class) So, although I could see where I needed to go faster and how I have to improve my sight, I feel I did OK. I highly recommend the course for anyone interested in better driving skills.

I put my "diploma" on the wall of the shop, next to some old drivers I knew.

When I got back from Phoenix, the Fiat 128ski had been color sanded and could ride home in it's new enclosed trailer. (eBay find in Phoenix). My wife (a graphic designer for Walt Disney Imagineering) is restoring the "Polish Eagle Racing" logo my oldest brother designed and silk screened for the car back in the day. In addition to using it on the car, the plan is to apply it to the new trailer.

Once home, I couldn't wait to start putting pieces back on the car. So Saturday and Sunday was about 12 hours each, of boltin it back together! Lots still to do, but it is so nice to see it clean and new looking. It's been nearly 40 years since I saw it like this. I modified the peddles to better suit my size 12 feet and went to put in the safety belts, when I realized they where not correct. I called Summit Racing and they where more than helpful in finding what I needed, processing the new order and making the return super easy.

Put in the brake lines, fuel lines and the fire suppression system. Also started reassembling the Girling calipers. Installed the new Plexi side and rear windows as well as the retaining straps. The windshield should be arriving soon, the gearbox replacement gear and lower final drive will be here in a couple of months, so I'm sourcing a stock 128 box as a stand-in for testing. I was told the suspension was ready, but they bright chromed it, instead of matte chrome, so maybe later this week that will be remedied. So far, I have only had to replace a small number of parts, so the car is going to be very original. I even managed to save the original rubber trunk hold downs.

Now I have to figure out which oil line goes where. My brother took the car apart and put tags on the parts, but it's been so many years, most of the writing has disappeared. The dry sump has 5 ports and I'm not clear on what does what. Time to find out, since poor oil pressure is NOT what you want in a race car, specially when it revs to 10,000 RPM!

Thursday, April 13, 2017

So, as I worked on the "refreshing the engine, things where going pretty well.

The body is being painted and Enrique, the painter, is invested in the project, and seems like a true "Craftsman" who wants to do his best. So even though I worked on the body, to a level I thought was acceptable, he worked over it some more. Now, all that is needed is to color sand it, and it comes home to be assembled! So back to prepping parts for assembly.

The original MiniLite wheels got stripped, and we found a Burgundy that matches the original wheel color. So they where powder coated in this, then I set them in my lathe and cleaned off the rim, then they would get cleared, giving them a shiny aluminum rim against the burgundy center.

Turns out my powder coat guy had not a clue. He didn't preheat the rim to off-gas them, so they bubbled. Then tried to BS me about not being able to clear coat them because there where finger prints on the burgundy centers. Had no clue of chemistry or how to clean the surface, then the clear came out blistered. I finally said, just give them to me, and I'll fix them.

Girling AR 1 Brake Calipers: These little buggers are expensive now. At least all 4 of mine seem in serviceable shape, and after some cleaning and disassembly, they seem fine. Master cylinders were not so lucky. I had purchased new rebuild kits for them, but upon disassembly, they where very corroded. I think they where in a bucket that got filled with water....oops.

Well, that was easy, Pegasus Motorsports has brand new, original Girling master cylinders. Well, you can always use the rebuild kits at some point,...right?

Thought it wise to buy new fuel pumps. The old Bendix ones could be OK, but while at the track, I'd hate find out I was wrong. Bendix must have sold the design to Facet, because it's nearly the identical pump. But, I figured, they should at least look like the Bendix ones. So, a little time on Corel- Draw, and I made new Bendix labels. Strip off the Fact label, add a little blue paint t the top of the pump, and Bam, Bendix fuel pumps.

I needed to clean the transmission, and thought, maybe I should pull off the end cover and look at the end of the gear shafts..... Well everything seemed fine, but then I saw a small chip of metal, hmmm? Turns out, it was magnetic, that's not as good as it could be. I then took off the back half of the case. Things looked clean, well, no, there are some "chunks" out of the inside of the casing!
Oh!, here is the problem, second gear is missing a tooth, well crap. After a bit of looking around, I found the missing tooth on one of the internal magnets and it seems it only damaged the case and the ring gear bolts. Well, now I have to find out if Colotti has a new gear. (After 40 years, Not likely, right)

Marco Colotti got back to me, "Not our work". Well dam, That was not the answer I expected, who made this set of gears? After hours of searching over the next few days, and many emails, nothing.I talked with Midwest / Bayless and Matt chuckles a little at some of my questions or things I suggest I may be able to do. This is not encouraging. But Hey, I'm a lucky guy.

Finally, I figure, the only way is to have the broken gear copied. I get a tip from Grassroots Motorsports forum, about a gear maker in Canada and he quickly sends me a quote. Quite reasonable, but I still need a final drive and the one I have does not look like a stock Fiat drive. Based on the cost of one simple gear, I'm hesitant to ask what making a new Pinion shaft and crown gear is going to be.
Then, One morning, I'm sending emails in a last attempt to find who made my dog box (straight cut gears) and, Marco Colotti sends me an email; "Sorry, after searching our records, this is our work, it is our T.127, 4 speed."
Fantastic news. After a couple more emails, He confirms, they can make a new gear, and can make a new lower final drive.

OK, I need to do some simple less stressful work on the car. I know, I'll clean the stainless trim pieces for the exterior. When my brother was originally going to have the car media blasted, he chose to tape over the trim, instead of removing it. Well, now, I have 12 year old masking tape "welded" to the trim pieces. Turns out, if you soak old, crusty, fossilized, paper masking tape in "Purple Power" cleaner for 2 days, it falls right off. ("Goo off" didn't do either, goo or off)

Hmm, what else can I prep? I know the wink mirror needs to be checked. There is a new one in the box, lets see if it needs anything. "Oh, no, this won't work." The old mirror is 31" long and the new one is 36". The mounting brackets are welded into the car. The freshly painted car..... Well, no problem, I'll search the internet and find the correct one.

Turns out, there are none like this. I couldn't even find a picture of one like this! First, they all are different lengths and have square ends, so each of the five mirrors are the same. Mine is 31" long, and the two end mirrors are tapered. But, after looking at the way it was made, the original mirror was 2 nested thermo-formed pieces of ABS plastic. I can do that.
So a few hours at my shop, I made an MDF wood pattern, put it on my thermo-form machine (Vacuum former) and made a new mirror. A few pieces of glass mirror later (Quite a few and some swearing) I had a new, exact copy of the original "Wink Mirror".

Now, next week, I travel to Phoenix and learn how to drive cars faster!

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

With the body/ chassis at the paint shop, I have turned my attentions to the 1300 cc motor and Colotti gearbox. Again, the old man did lots of special things and every time I start to rebuild or if I need to replace something, I become aware of how custom everything on this car is. I first notice this on the suspension control arm. The tapered pin/ ball joint, isn't. It's a spherical aircraft bearing with a custom machined insert, with a tapered end. Well one of them is bent and needs to be replaced, so some time on my lathe, and I think I can fix that. (My brother told me he slid the car off track and we think this is how it became bent.)

The engine however is a different matter, my father had all of these advanced techniques used on the parts, techniques that I have no way of doing, and finding companies willing to take on this "tiny" passion project can sometimes be challenging. Like, the Titanium flywheel; It has the clutch contact surface flame sprayed with either Tungsten Carbide, or Titanium Carbide.

The people I talk to about redoing this, think I'm some enthusiast trying to make his street car "cool" and they act like I really don't know what I'm asking for. Or the suspension; it was hard chrome plated by an aerospace coatings shop in Connecticut. The hard chrome place here looked at me like I was crazy to ask them to do this to "car parts".
In my Google search for companies here in California who do tungsten carbide flame spray (also known as plasma spray), I came across a patent application to patent this idea of hard coating the flywheels wear area. It's from 1995, 20 years after this car was built. Like many of the things on this car, no one was doing these things in the 1970's.
In addition to getting the flywheel resurfaced, I'm hoping for some insight on why it cracked and chipped.

This was a clutch.

The clutch or whats left of it is a little more straight forward. I think it was a Tilton Formula Ford clutch and the fellow who did the original engine work, thinks he has one. If not, they are pretty standard fare.

The Colotti gear box seems OK. The only thing I know I need is a different final drive ratio. I saw a complete Colotti transmission for sale on eBay a few months ago and they wanted $4500 for it. I really didn't want to spend that much on something I wasn't sure I needed or was correct for the car. But then I looked up what a new one costs from Colotti, I think it was,$14,500. I probably should have found the money to buy it.

I have pulled all of the support bits off the motor, like the water pump, belt tensioners, oil pump, coolant system, and they all seem in great shape, other than some cleaning. There was a little electrolysis on the thermostat housing, and the aluminum was fairly pitted, but again, Midwest / Bayless comes to the rescue with a new unit at a reasonable price. The Fiat water pump was good to go, so I cleaned it and put it back on.

In 1976, Dad used a new product from Loctite, called "Gasket Eliminator". He had a Loctite salesman at his Aerospace shop, who dropped of a sample box, a small red plastic tackle box with samples of all the Loctite line of products. I think I still have some of the original sample bottles at my effects shop. To try and keep this "as built" I ordered some Loctite 515 and used that on the water pump & Cosworth oil pump.
The Cosworth sump pump looked like new inside and after taking it apart and cleaning it, I was putting it back on when I noticed a small crack in the "outlet" port. So, off it comes and I'll clean it and weld it up. These Cosworth pumps where used on many cars including Lotus and Formula Fords, which is where I think this one came from. It's a 5 port pump and I have been looking for a plumbing diagram of what all these ports where used for! Oh and "new" ones are $700 -$900, so I will be extra careful with my welding.

The distributor was made by Accel or MSD ignition products. Started in 1970 by some engineers working on projects at the White sands missile range, MSD, was the first to sell Multiple Spark Discharge systems. This unit, they custom made in 1976 for the Fiat, from an 8 cylinder dragster distributor, It's one of a kind. They are now owned by Holly, and the "Support tech" I talked to seemed completely disinterested in the history of this unit, in fact as I was explaining the history and uniqueness of the unit, I wondered if I had been disconnected, since he didn't comment. I asked if they had any way of testing the unit, and said they have no and they really only have a few things for their current line. Given that it was working fine when the car was last driven, I'm hoping, that like old telephones, the electronics are robust and it will work fine. But until I fire up the motor, I won't know for sure.

Original-foreground, Copy-background

Copies & Silicone mold

One other item I had to make, and it is something I am very familiar with, is making plasic parts. In this case, a replacement air vent for the "C" post. There are three vents on each side of the car that allow air to flow out of the cabin. These are not really needed on the race car, but where left in for there look. Well two of them where cracked due to age. So I made a RTV silicone mold and cast up replacements.
Oh, and my drivers suit and helmet came it. "Clothes make the man", so it will be nice the wear these in addition to my mechanics overalls.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Since my posts on this project started about a month or so after I started working on the car, my writing has finally caught up to the project. Now I have to be more disciplined in keeping my posts current.The bodywork and repairs are finished and it looks like the Fiat is ready for a new coat of Imron white. This will give me some time to work on the rest of the bits, so they are ready to go back on when she comes back from paint. There are limited number of test days at the local track and the one in May I need to be ready for.

Newly made fiberglass hood with new stiffeners on the undersideand original machined aluminum air vent grills.

In addition to body work one of my tasks is a new hood (bonnet). After a rules change in 1977, we needed to lighten the car, so the stock steel hood was replaced with a lighter fiberglass one. The original fiberglass hood was pretty sad looking, but I had the mold and it looked pretty good. I have done a lot more fiberglass (FRP) work in the 40 years since, so I was sure I could make a slightly better one than I did when I was 16. The trunk lid was also a fiberglass replacement, it to is in sad shape, but I don't know what happened to that mold. For now I'll use an original Fiat trunk lid and perhaps make a fiberglass replacement in the future.
The problem with the original FRP hood, was it had no structural reinforcement on the under side like sheet metal hoods do. This wasn't a factor when the car was not moving, but at speed, air pressure was bowing the hood up slightly. To add stiffness, I made a template for this reinforce structure that needed to avoid areas that might interfere with components in the engine bay. This template was used to cut 1/2" rigid polyurethane foam, then the foam piece was fiberglassed into the back side of the hood. I also had quick release hood mount pins and 2 machined aluminum grills to fit into the finished hood. Back when we first decided to make a lighter FRP hood, dad and I felt the air vents in the hood would be more successful in aluminum, since reproducing those in fiberglass was beyond my abilities at the time. I removed the vents from the original hood and carefully glassed them into the new hood.

A Stock Fiat 128 sl coupe chassis

As I have said previously, the car is no longer "stock" and it has many modifications But, as I have gone over the car I am amazed at the places my old man got into to TIG weld the roll cage and suspension reinforcements. I'm now about the same age he was when he built this, and with the few difficult places I have had to weld in, rust repair sections, I have trouble imagining how he could have welded some of the places he did. Also, the amount of welding! I have been tempted to measure the total footage of welding on the car, but it would take too long. Here are some images of the things I'm referring to.

The same area of the Fiat 128 ski

Pedal area with the slightly lowered floor.The two tubes coming through the floortie into the control arm mounting assembly.

Front control arm mounts in a "not stock" sub assembly, tied into the roll cage.

Custom radius rod brackets, now with spherical bearings. (removed)

Engine mount (on left) moved down and duel master cylinder mounting bracket.Reinforced chassis member and new shock towers, all tied into the tube frame.

Rear suspension mounts again, all reinforced and raised into the car.Opening for the ATL Fuel Cell.

After addressing the rust repair, I need to make sure that anything that requires heat, hammering or welding is done now, while the car is bare. With all these modifications, one of these areas I've need to focus on is making sure all of the threaded insets or studs are not damaged. Some I've masked, others I can run a tap into to clean up any residue. Luckily there seems to be no rust damage to any of the mountings.
The last issue I have issue, is I am taller and have bigger feet than my dad. So, I tested out my seating position one more time and have decided I need more room for my feet. The clutch pedal is pretty close to the down tube of the cage/ frame but, I can make that work. But it forces my left foot too close to the brake pedal and I don't need to get my feet tangled finding the brake. I am hesitant to start cutting pedal brackets on the original set up. Dad did this to get the pedals where they are now, and I'd like to preserve his work here. I internet search shows me Midwest Bayless to the rescue! A complete pedal box & clutch, brake pedal unit is $69.00. I've ordered one and use it to make my re-positioned pedals, keeping the original, well, original.

Pedals still need to be moved back,but now my feet don't hit the box.

Then there is the sheet metal floor. The passenger side is the stock sheet metal, that just gets painted. After two trips to/ from Alaska on the Al-Can highway, with the Fiat filled with spare parts and belongings, the floor took a pounding and looked like a topographical map of Finland. Using my hydraulic lift and a custom aluminum "planishing plate" I heated the floor with a rosebud torch and with the plate pressed up from below, planished the dents down to a map of Nebraska. Some small wrinkles, but at least flat. On the drivers side, there was a rusted section that needed to be replaced where water had pooled under the drivers seat. But on this side, most of the Fiat's floor would be covered. In addition to the seat, there was a 16 gauge titanium "skid plate" under the seat and the foot well had a bare aluminum "scuff plate". Dad knew getting in and out of the car would eventually damage the paint here, so the bare aluminum could get scuffed up and still look OK, while offering a little more protection to the drivers feet in case of an "off track" excursion. But with my big size 12 feet, I needed a little more clearance for my toes, as they where hitting the steering linkage and the pedal box. I decided to planish this side flat as well and push the floor down a half inch in the process.
Now my feet have the room. Off to paint and on to suspension restoration.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The flatbed truck showed up at the house one morning with a silver gray Fiat
chassis on it. There is something satisfying in seeing the car all clean down
to bare metal. There where remnants of Charlie's Bondo work around the fenders
and of course you could now clearly see all the areas that rust had eaten away.
Since I had not built a dollie or wheeled frame to move the chassis around on,
I screwed a piece of plywood to the bottom of the car to help protect it from
dents, and make it easier to drag around. The flatbed driver an I tried to
slide the car, but it wasn't moving, but a little application of physics, by
putting a piece of steel tubing under the plywood and it rolled onto the trucks
lift gate easily. Once I got it in the garage, it would get jacked up and put
on jack stands.

In the garage and on stands I took inventory of the damage. The car had been covered by a tarp, and under a awning, but it was still outside for 11 years. The trunk lip was rusted and the drivers rocker would need to be replaced. There was damage to the passenger compartment floor as well as other areas here and there where water could puddle.

As I walked around the car drinking my coffee, I found my self sliding my hand along the Fiats body, thinking about how my dad loved building things. I had never seen the car like this, all monotone gray, because when the old man added all of the roll cage and other bits, the car still had its stock dark blue paint. So when the car left for paint, it looked a little "Mad Max" with its raw steel tubes and scorched paint from the welder and cutting torch. Now, all bare metal, you could see all of the areas he had added stuff and I thought, how in the world did that broad shouldered, 50 year old guy, get into that tiny spot and TIG weld that roll bar?

As my hand slid across a panel, I'd feel a slight depression that shouldn't be there. After an hour or so, the car had penciled circles all over it. I was probably worrying about things you would never notice on a white race car, but this was the time to do the work and I kept thinking the old man would have wanted these to be fixed if possible.

In my movie prop career, I've used Bondo (body filler) hundreds of times and had to finish surface's for higher scrutiny than this Fiat would likely see, but, this was actually the first time I was using Bondo for it's intended purpose, fixing dents on a car.

First thing though was metal work. The rocker panel needs to be cut out and the front air dam needs tabs welded in where old one have broken out and there is the trunk lip to replace. At my shop, I have sheet metal forming brakes and rolls, a TIG welder and plenty of fabrication equipment of all types. But in my garage, space is limited. So its pattern here, fabricate at the shop, then hope it fits without too much fuss. The rocker panel and trunk lip should be pretty simple. I made two rockers, just in case I needed to replace the passenger side as well.

Funny how when you have certain equipment, like a 5 HP 2 stage air compressor and a full line of air tools, you develop ways to do things, that, when you don't have those tools, you have to come up with new ways. If I had room at my shop, I would do this there, but building space in LA has gotten very expensive. At home, I do not have these tools, so a Bosch jig saw made short work of the rocker panel and electric grinders in place of air tools. These are bulkier, but they wok well.

One thing I do have is a full armour shop here. One of my hobbies is medieval history and armour. So moving metal around into very specific shape is something I am very familiar with now.

Because, one thing I wanted to fix, was an error in judgement my 16 year old self had made, in the amount of distance behind the company truck, and the Fiats right front fender. Boy, that was one day I didn't want to see my old man. He never got really really angry, but I knew he wouldn't be happy about a dent in his brand new race car. Lucky for me, the dent wasn't too severe and because the Imron paint was so tough, most of the dent "popped" out and it required only a tiny bit of repaint and being white you couldn't see the remaining dent unless you knew it was there. But, I know my dad knew it was there. So, at least now I could fix it completely.

Another thing I needed to check, was if I fit in the car. My dad had wide shoulders, but was just around 6 ft. tall. I have wide shoulders but I'm 6'3" with a very long torso, so head room in cars is always a concern. I knew the seat was as low as it could go, so if my helmet wouldn't clear the roll cage, I had no idea what I could do. When we first built the car, Dad was pretty sure we would be under the minimum weight for this car according to SCCA rules at the time. So the seat started as a fiberglass racing seat and he added a stainless steel knee bolster and we then pt a giant trash bag in the seat and using rigid urethane foam, we foam fit him into the seat. I then fiber-glassed the whole thing. When we where done, the seat weighed 22 pounds, but we didn't care.

Lightweight aluminum seat

But when the new rule book came out, they changed the minimum weight of this car and now we looked to be over weight. So in the trash with the 22 lbs seat and he fabricated a new one in aluminum that weighed only 6 pounds. Because the car was so low and the seat was less than an inch from the floor, he was concerned with hitting a piece of debris and getting punched in the jewels. So, there is now a 16 gauge titanium shield under the seat.

I bolted in the seat, peddles and steering wheel, grabbed my
motorcycle helmet and driving shoes and put on the race car. Luckily, I fit. My
legs are not much longer than my dad’s, but my feet are. I must look at the
peddle area to see if I can get a little more space, so I'm not hitting the
peddle box. Once I get my competition helmet and suit, I'll recheck, but it
looks like I can drive comfortably in the current position.

Oh and laying off the beer will only help the
situation....another thing my dad loved.